The Natives are Getting Restless in San Jose --NBC Bay Area/Steph Adrouny (ND) Under Scrutiny

Stephanie Adrouny has been in charge as ND at NBC Bay Area for almost a decade now--enough time to legitimately ask: "what's going on here?"

A good majority of staff in San Jose are asking just that very question. Not openly, of course, behind the scenes and directly, to me at 415 Media.

Adrouny still has the respect of the newsroom but her honeymoon (somewhat) is finally over and it's been over quite a while now only San Jose/NBC has been sort of lost in the shuffle here--largely because of all the muddled issues that plague the other outlets, notably KTVU, KPIX, KRON and to a lesser degree, KGO.

NBC Bay Area has managed to get by, albeit outside the limelight. Because of NBC's strong programming including Olympics and its Sunday Night NFL football package, its O and O (owned/operated) stations make considerable money and the Bay Area is no different. NBC Bay Area has never had a particularly strong local news but it's been able to rest its laurels on papa peacock--that's always been a given.

Until now.

Some say San Jose NBC is stagnant. I agree.

It doesn't stand out, it hardly has except for an Olympics year eons ago.

You would think a fairly solid anchoring crew like Jessica Aguirre and Raj Mathai would be cause for a celebration but both have never been highlight personalities. Mathai has been given the Cronkite seat inside the newsroom but his pedigree has come into question. Raj is quite popular: with himself. The adulation hasn't spread to viewers.

Jessica Aguirre has more community following and has built up a fairly loyal following in the South Bay but lately, nothing to write home about. Janelle Wang? Are you kidding. No, you're not.

Meanwhile, NBC itself is unhappy with its Bay Area station and all that, fairly or unfairly, falls on Adrouny's watch. She's always been allowed to coast along but those days are over.

Adrouny, as I mentioned, still has the backing of staff but it's not as sturdy as it once was. Adrouny is a big Giants fan. To use a baeball analogy, she better start hitting and get out of a slump otherwise she might be sent down to the minors in Fresno if things don't begin to perk up.